Chicken Wings – Page 9

Monday Meanderings – Benchmark Brewing Company Opens in Bay Park, Ramen Ryoma, Bonchon, and is Hunan Kitchen Closed?

July 23, 2018 mmm-yoso Beer, Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Ramen

It's been a crazy busy day. I haven't done one of these in a while…so here goes.

Benchmark Brewing Company Opens in Bay Park:

I was driving past last week and noticed folks in the place. This past weekend; the sign was up.

I'm happy for my 'hood.

4112 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Tues – Thurs 4pm – 8pm
Fri – Sat Noon – 9pm
Sunday Noon – 7pm

Ramen Ryoma opening in Kearny Mesa:

I had some free time to drive around this past weekend. I was staying away from the crowds. I noticed that Ramen Ryoma is replacing Bangkok West.

I know about the much hyped soon to be Hillcrest location of this Oregon based ramen chain. But hadn't heard they were opening in KM.

9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

Bonchon Chicken opening on Convoy:

I'd read about Bonchon opening on Convoy in the Eater. It replaces the R&B Crawfish Lounge.

This chain based which originated out of Busan now has a ton of stores in the US.

4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

The reason I drove into Plaza del Sol; was that I noticed Hunan Kitchen (i.e. Noodle Hut/Tǔjiā Xiāng Cài (土家湘菜) was closed.

The signs are still up. So I'm hoping it's just for some renovation or temporary repairs.

4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

If not; this would be the fifth restaurant in this location since 2011!

It’s Fry-Day – T.P. Banh Bao and Royal Mandarin

June 29, 2018 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

Here are a couple posts appropriate for any "Fry-Day".

T.P. Banh Bao:

Have you ever headed out for lunch thinking you want something and then suddenly changing your mind at the destination? Such was the case on this day. I needed to take my lunch at a rather odd hour and thought I'd just head on over to R & B. When I arrived, I just didn't feel that hungry….nor did I feel like having any Filipino food.

Looking down the strip mall I saw TP Banh Bao….well, it had been a while, right? I could just grab a couple of Banh Bao and head back to the office.

In order to get the fried pork, salted egg yolk, and sausage Banh Bao, I had to order three. So I got three of those and two of the steamed pork with quail egg and sausage.

Returning to the office; I immediately gave away one of the fried and one of the steamed.

A lot of folks complain about the size to price ratio of these. And they may be right….to a point. You see; there's a ton of filling to the amount of bread. The steamed bao had started to go soggy; though the filling was porky, though a bit on the mealy and dry side. Not enough sausage for my taste as well.

The fried bao, was still crisp as I sliced it in half. Frying ensures that it holds together. I think the frying also intensifies the sweetness of this as well.

The filling was moist, with a decent porkiness; but man, this was so rich. I ended up giving away that last fried bao.

Now I know…at TP; I'm a two bao guy…..

T.P. Banh Bao 3
11271 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Royal Mandarin:

At the end of one of my meetings; one of the folks asked me to come back to her office. She brought me a bag…..I immediately knew the smell of Royal Mandarin's Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings. I just started to crack-up. You see, a couple of months back, we were chatting before our meeting and she asked about what to get for an upcoming pot luck. I told her just be like everyone in National City and get wings from Royal Mandarin…..she had no idea what I was talking about! I told her she was the only person of Filipino descent in National City who didn't know about Royal Mandarin!!!!

I guess she knows now…..

She got me an order of Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings and Shrimp Fried Rice…….an nice ABCDE (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment) meal if there ever was one.

This was way to much food for me; so when I got back to my desk, I made myself a plate, and gave away the rest.

The wings looked a pale in color, but was nice and crisp. That's the thing about RM wings; the crispness lasts. The wings seemed a bit lighter than usual; though the salt-pepper-garlic "crack like" (MSG) flavor was still there. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the shrimp was cooked; plump and moist. This was typical ABCDE fried rice; fairly dry, each grain coated.

Man, has it been nine years since we did our great salt and pepper chicken wing comparison? Seems like yesterday. Time sure does fly…..

Here's to you Howie, Candice, Sarah, Jenne, Mr & Mrs Zompus, and Dennis!

Royal Mandarin Restaurant
1132 E. Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950

Shank & Bone

March 22, 2018 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I was a bit intrigued when I first read about Shank & Bone opening in North Park. A Vietnamese place in North Park? Though this little phrase in that post caught my attention “traditional, authentic cuisine and flavors of Vietnam". Okay! You know what I think about using the term "authentic" when it comes to a cuisine. But "traditional", I can buy into that. Could it be? I decided to visit a few days after the place opened.

Traditional or not; the interior design of this shop is something to see. From the Shepard Fairey print to the bright colors and clean design.

In the category of "something to see", so are the prices on the menu; especially "that" bowl of pho…..more on that shortly.

I saw Beef Carpaccio ($12) on the menu. So I decided to start with that.

I also saw watercress; so thought the dish was perhaps a cross between Bo Xao Xa Lach Xoong and Bo Tai Chanh. Turns out it was closer to the former. I love watercress, so I enjoyed the veggies, the mint really helped; though the nuoc mam was weak on the fish sauce and too sweet for me. The beef was rolled up into balls, not the most visually appealing presentation. Upon unravelling the protein, I realized how large the four slices were. This was basically repurposing beef sliced for pho. It was a bit too thick for my taste.

Still, not a bad dish.

I also got the "Signature Pho" ($17). The bowl, sans soup was delivered to the table, and the broth poured from a pitcher tableside.

I noticed a couple of things right off. The basil and sprouts, the portion size of which was small, were starting to turn brown. The broth had a nice fat content and was dark brown, but gave off no fragrance. It was pretty weak; very mild beefiness, no anise tones, very little of anything. The noodles were too soft for my taste as well.

The two slices of top round were typical; on the dry side, though the flank and brisket were nicely done.

The biggest disappointments were the oxtail, which needed more cooking time as it was dry and tough, and the bone marrow, which sounds really good in theory, but quickly became a rather unsightly globule of fat in the bowl and for some reason had lost all its flavor.

Not my favorite bowl of pho by any means. And maybe "no MSG" might not be a good thing in this case? And I was left over thirty bucks lighter in the wallet as well.

The staff though, were a joy, very friendly, and just a nice group overall. Dishes did take a while, but I wrote that off to having just opened.

I was on my way back from Northgate Market the next day and decided to take a detour and try a couple of other dishes at S&B.

This time, I was seated at the bar. I looked over the beer, sake, and soju list. S&B does not have cocktail license, but I was intrigued at the "Old Pho-shioned" ($10). Which, while a bit on the lighter side…to be expected, was fairly decent. I enjoyed the anise-clove-burnt orange tones of the drink.

As for food; well, this time I went with the "Saigon Chicken Wings" ($10).

These were smaller sized wings; which I prefer for the skin/batter to meat ratio. The batter was a bit on the hard side and the glaze really, really sweet. The wings were also fried a bit too long as the meat was on the dry side. Not terrible.

I saw Banh Mi Bo Kho ($11) on the menu during my previous visit and was curious about that.

The beef stew, while on the thinner side had a nice amount of fat. The broth, while lacking a good amount of tanginess, had more than enough black pepper and beefy flavor. The beef was nicely done; not mushy and over-cooked, but unlike the oxtail not tough. I could have used more pungent onions and some anise tones in the broth, but this was fine. I also missed not having beef tendon. But this was, by far, the best item I had at Shank & Bone.

I was going to quit while I was ahead. But then I read Kirbie's post on Shank & Bone (please check it out) and there was a dish that caught my attention. So I decided to head on back.

The same great crew were present. I went ahead and ordered a "Plenty for All" and the Banh Xeo Tacos ($11).

This riff on banh xeo uses the "crepe" as the taco "shell". Very nice and creative. The filling is a combination of chopped pork, shrimp, bean sprouts (not enough), and jicama (not enough). It was on the mild side in terms of flavor. and the nuoc mam was low on the fish sauce and much too sweet. I liked the lettuce and mint, but missed the basil and tiet to (purple perilla) which adds a nice citrusy-anise flavor to banh xeo. Also, the crepe shells didn't hold up real well; but had a nice, light crunch while they did.

I needed a companion to my "tacos" and because that was a pretty large fat globule of bone marrow in my pho on my first visit; I decided to try the Roasted Bone Marrow and Banh Mi Crostini's ($13).

This just wasn't a good value as there wasn't very much bone marrow in these rather "skinny" bones. It was all gone with one slice of banh mi. The "chimichurri" had way to much citrus making it too sour….not a great match for bone marrow.

So that's it for Shank & Bone for now. I wish them well, but there's just so many almost $40 dollar solo mediocre lunches and dinners I can take. Still, it's a nice atmosphere, the staff is friendly…..but it's all about the food with me.

Though if you want hipster Vietnamese, well….this just might be the place.

Shank & Bone
2930 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Sun – Mon 11am – 9pm
Tues – Sat 11am – 10pm

Cross Street Chicken and Beer (Pre-Soft Opening)

October 4, 2017 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Beer, Chicken Wings, Korean Restaurants

Cross Street has fascinated me since I first noticed that Your Story was closed back in June. I'd heard that the place was going to do KFC….you know K(orean) F(ried) C(hicken), which was confirmed by Eater a few weeks later.

While driving by last week, I noticed that the place looked open. I sent a text to "YummyYummy" who through her connections verified that they were in "Pre-soft" (???) Opening mode. Soon enough, "YY" and "Xiāng Jiāo" and I decided to meet up.

The place is dressed up in the very modern; industrial style that is popular these days. Lot's of staff on hand….super friendly young folks. This being "before" the soft opening, I expected some mishaps, but there were none. Some scrambling, but these folks seem up to the task.

The menu is mostly made up of fried foods, with Chicken Wings (of course) being the focus. It's basically $11 for 6 wings prepared in one of six "styles".

But first that popular Korean drinking snack, Corn Cheese ($8).

These were pretty dull for corn cheese, not enough cheese, the corn not sweet enough.

And some Beer Battered Fries ($6), which I found to be ok.

I thought these could have been more crisp and the fries got soggy fairly quickly.

So, what about those wings. Well, before folks freak out about the $11 for six wings thing; I'll say this, the wings are pretty large, in my opinion too large as I prefer a small to medium size wing….better skin to ratio. The wings were good quality; tender meat, juicy, no broken bones, no off colors.

As to how these compare to the KFC we had at, say, Mirak or Kkanbu in Seoul? Or even Gala, "Bee-Bee-Q", or Kyochon? Well, let's take a look.

The Original……

I was told these were the "signature" wings, but though while it had enough salt, it needed some zing. The wings are so large that I think the double fry method doesn't work as much magic here as all of the fat under the skin did not render down all the way and the batter got soft rather quickly. This was the only wings we had that were served with a "salad" rather than the traditional mul kimchi….which would have done good in this case.

Salt and Pepper…..

Royal Mandarin, Mandarin Canton, and the rest have nothing to worry about for now as again the coating didn't hold out too long. It also wasn't very light and crisp on this version. The flavor was very mild for S&P wings and was a bit greasy as well.

Here's the classic, very typical, sticky, Spicy Korean style wings you get at many places.

I expected a bit more heat, but we were told that they were worried about it being too hot and scaring away the non-Korean customers. It was sweet and sticky. This got soggy really quickly and the young man who I think is one of the owners really apologized about that and tried to take it off the bill. But that's not our style…..hey, they're not even in Soft Opening mode!

I thought the best wings we had was the Soy Garlic…..

While on the mild side with regards to garlic flavor; it wasn't too sweet, had a decent bit of saltiness, the batter was a bit thick, but held up the best of all the wings. This ain't no Kyochon, but I'd take this over "BBQ Chicken" and Gala.

The owners were very nice and gracious….they asked us our opinion….usually we'd balk, but this time we were very honest. We were thanked for our opinion and told to please return because they're hoping to "get better every day"! There was such sincerity in that declaration, that having to run some errands for the Missus, I returned the very next day…..

They were a lot busier this time around, but the service was still very friendly….everyone smiles here. At least on my visits they did.

This time around I had Max Cream, an all malt beer, brewed by Hite. This wasn't too sweet, very light, unobtrusive, slightly winey (cat pee), easy to drink.

I actually ordered way too much food, but really enjoyed myself.

Starting with the Fried Pickle Spears ($8).

While I thought the breading was really hard; I really enjoyed the tart-sour of the pickles….it really got my attention; especially when I took a big first bite.

The Beer Battered Fries were better this time around.

Staying nice and crisp.

I ordered the Original Wings again.

While the flavor was still rather plain and the wings didn't quite have that signature light crispness of good KFC; in terms of keeping a nice crunchiness throughout the meal; this was much better.

As were the Soy Garlic wings.

A bit more garlic; lighter crisper coating that held out well, this was much better than the previous day. They just need to get a handle on rendering out a bit more fat and I think this is a keeper.

So, I guess the really nice folks here weren't kidding when they said things "get better every day". At least it did for me.

I like these folks, I hope they do well. Though I'll wait until or maybe after their upcoming Soft Opening.

I also need to order the Garlic Parmesan wings that Kirbie enjoyed in her post on Cross Street.

Cross Street Chicken and Beer
4403 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Vancouver/Richmond – The Alibi Room and the Richmond Night Market

June 10, 2017 mmm-yoso Beer, Canada, Chicken Wings, Desserts, Festivals & Events, Pubs and Pub Grub, Vancouver, Canada

After a nice afternoon nap, we headed off to the Gastown area.

It was a nice day to be out and about, if a bit on the warm side.

The Missus enjoyed window shopping and we stopped at a few places; like at Kit and Ace near the Steam Clock. Where this guy was hanging out.

It was indeed rather warm, so we headed down the street to a place named the Alibi Room. The place was pretty much full. But the nice Server told us that if we weren't eating anything and didn't mind not having table service, we could head on downstairs.

Which turned out to be a comfortable place to grab a few beers. There are over 50 pulls in this place. And they do half pours as well; which we appreciated.

What we had is lost to posterity, but I recall really enjoying the vibe.

A nice stop; we'll be back the next time we're in town.

Alibi Room
157 Alexander Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 1B8
Canada

We needed to first catch the bus; then the SkyTrain to get to our next stop. We had day metro passes and I had the bus stop indicated on my phone. We found our stop and a guy who looked homeless came up to us. I immediately thought he'd be asking for some cash….but instead he told me, "sir, this bus stop has been temporarily moved to the street above." Thanksful, I offered him some money, but he refused, saying "this one is on me." Only in Canada!

We got off at the Bridgeport SkyTrain Station and followed the well marked signs.

So, we followed this group of people who were having a great old time and got to what looked like ticket booths and a gate. A really nice young man came up to us and asked us if we were customers of 'xxx' and had our customer number. We explained that we are from out of town and have obviously found the wrong entrance. The young man pointed across the way to a line of what looked like 200-300 people. He told us "that's the general admission line; this line is for 'xxx' customers, 'xxx' is sponsoring tonight's night market and if you have either a zoom pass or are one of their customers you can come in this way." Now, if I recall a the passes were like $25 a book, good for so many entrances, so that would be a waste. So we thanked him and were headed to the line when he asked us where we were from. We told him San Diego. In a hushed, conspiratory tone he told us to "wait here". A minute later he returned with two tickets. You are now officially customers of 'xxx', if anyone asks you if you are customers of 'xxx', make sure to tell them yes. What a nice gesture….you gotta love Canada.

The Richmond Night Market claims to be the largest Night Market in North America and I don't doubt this claim as the choices, and crowds are staggering.

Now, if you read the blog quite often, you know I'm way behind on some of my travel posts and our visit was during early August of 2016. The Missus had seen a bunch of stuff posting to Instagram……about a dessert…..She just had to have it.

The dessert "du jour" of that period of time was the Raindrop Cake (you can see Kirbie's recipe here). It's based on Japanese Mizu Shingen Mochi. And kind of looks like a breast implant if you ask me.

The Missus got Her confection and we took a seat.

And soon folks started coming around asking what this stuff was….we actually offered them a taste if they wanted one….but most of them just looked kind of, well, puzzled. Anyway, this was "meh", sugar water and agar…..I prefer just straight up Warabimochi coating in kinako to this.

Our table was next to the Prehistoric Park area and while taking a look at the photo of the T-Rex below, it wasn't the replica of the dinosaur that caught my attention; but the sign to right that said, "FanTuan Delivery, Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere"…..I don't think San Diego is included in the "Anywhere" though.

While the Missus went for the sweets; I had one place in mind.

Little Phnom Penh is famous for their Chicken Wings with Lemon and Pepper sauce. So I placed my order and watched them make my wings.

Notice that container with the spoon; the wings are fried, then mixed in a wok with garlic, scallions, and a spoon full of that mysterious white substance….which I'm fairly certain isn't only salt.

The wings are light, though not as crisp as I prefer, the garlic could be cooked a bit more; it's still on the bitter side. The wings are tender and moist, but I'm not a big fan of the lemon sauce; which tastes like bottled lemon juice with black pepper. Still, this was good overall.

There sure was a huge variety of "stuffs" available…….some quite interesting.

This seemed more "County Fair – Carnival" than Night Market and the place was starting to get packed.

As we wove our way around people; we heard this guy……..voice like an old fashioned Carnival Barker, with a Chinese accent of course.

As we walked up; the smell of cumin danced in the air……we both love yang rou chuan and this guy cracked us up.

We got lamb and lamb kidney and while not great, this was pretty tender, though it could have used more cumin.

This "Chef James" had me wondering who he was. If you'd like to find out his story you can read it here.

Overall a fun time for us.

Richmond Night Market
May – October
8351 River Rd
Richmond, BC V6X 1Y4
Canada
Fri-Sat 7pm – MN
Sun 7pm – 11pm

By the time we got back to the apartment, the sun had set. It was a beautiful clear night. We finished the rest of the Roast Duck and Rice and I cracked open a brew…..

And sat in the Solarium of the apartment watching the weekend action on the Street below.

Life was good…..

Lunch Specials at Hui An Garden

May 23, 2017 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

**** Hui An Garden has closed

Fu An Garden's short run ended back in January and the place became Hui An Garden. For some reason, I wasn't particularly motivated to visit, but over the last three months I decided to check out some of the lunch specials. Those visits, along with posts like Faye's, would give me some indication whether to make some time for dinner here.

The interior is basically the same….but I find the floors here to be kind of the sticky side these days.

On my first visit, I ordered; or thought I ordered the Shredded Pork with Preserved Vegetable on Rice….but strangely ended up with Pork Fried Rice?

There was a slight bit of wok hay going on as it left a (very) slight smokiness; but as a whole this was pretty bland. Also, when having fried rice; I like to be able to count every grain should I want to. There were several clumps of rice in this.

Not sure about portion size (which was fairly generous), I also ordered the Bok Choy with Garlic.

This was a straight forward, typical stir fry; perhaps on the more oily side. This was supposed to be "baby bok choy", but were pretty large. The cooking was a bit uneven as the lower stalks of the bok choy was almost raw on the larger pieces. It also could have used a bit more garlic and white pepper.

On my next visit I made sure to get the Shredded Pork with Preserved Vegetable on Rice. Man, this was a lot of rice!

And even though I used to make fun of the couple of pieces of plain blanched broccoli or carrots used on these type of lunch special dishes….here it's been replaced by a rather strange stir fried cabbage, flavored with a touch of soy sauce. The pork slices were decently cooked; tender, there wasn't enough preserved vegetable, nor was it very good as it didn't add enough of the nice sour-savory flavors to the dish. I finished all the pork and vegetable and still over half the rice left!

During this visit I noticed two older Chinese customers come in and order roast pork. Well, I figured it must be worth a try.

So I came in and ordered the Roasted Pork Belly on Rice. I told them to give me "half rice", but again something got lost in the translation as again there was a load of rice.

Actually, the pork was pretty good in terms of texture; the skin thin and crisp, the pork belly tender. The flavor was on the milder side and that sauce was not very good; almost bitter to my palate. This is probably the best item I've had here.

The next time I returned I walked into this.

I wasn't quite sure what was going on. Then I realized, it was "all hands on deck" as they were prepping box lunches….like stacks of food, which the tall guy carried out making several trips back and forth then left to deliver them somewhere. It took them a while to see that I was standing there.

I was curious about the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings on the menu. I wasn't too hungry, so I asked for no rice.

There were eight wings, not bad for $6.99. I thought the batter looked a little bit on the light side; but was crisp, if not especially flavorful. The wings could have used more "salt" and even "pepper". The wings were much better than the drumettes which were on the dry side.

So, tired yet? Just to compare this place to FuAn Garden; I decided to get the Roast Duck….for lunch it is of course on rice. I forgot to tell them to go easy on the rice, though I'm not sure it would have made much difference.

Actually, this isn't as much duck as you might think; it's pretty thin slices. While the duck was nice and moist, the skin decent, not tough, though a bit too flaccid for me. The duck was really short on flavor; lacking in richness or sweetness, without any bean paste flavor, and the cabbage was almost raw to boot.

In terms of pricing; every dish you see in this post was $6.99. So it's hard to complain too much; in spite of the handful of cabbage as the vegetable (not a garnish). The portion sizes, at least in terms of rice is quite large, the proteins, not so much. Looking back, I realize that perhaps I needed to go in a different direction here….maybe in the future. Though I probably should try out Noble Chef again first.

Hui An Garden Restaurant
4768 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Tokyo – Isehiro Kyobashi Honten

February 20, 2017 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region, Travel

After having a wonderful time visiting Kamakura, we were pretty hungry. We arrived back in Tokyo and freshened up. We had one more night left and the Missus still hadn't had Her share of Yakitori yet. Isehiro had been a recommendation I received and we even tried to get in on our first evening in Tokyo, but they were strangely closed. So we decided to give it another try.

My understanding is that all the tables upstairs are usually reserved, but the tables and counter downstairs are not. There was not a single soul in the place when we arrived.

But the gentleman behind the grill was cooking like crazy, then placing items in containers. The Missus and I looked at each other and got a feeling that this wasn't going to be a particularly stellar meal. Items are precooked, then reheated.

Next little thing. We were told that there were two "set" menus available…….you can do extras, but no a la carte. The full course was 6480 ¥ (about $60/US at the time) and the "healthy" course was 5832 ¥ (about $54/US). Man, that's not cheap. Each course had 9 skewers, the healthy course had some vegetable items.

We decided to stay the course and just go for it. Though at this point, I'm thinking this better be good. I decided to get a Highball to start.

After the traditional oshibori, the hot towel, things started coming fast a and furious….I mean why not? Most of it was premade.

We both got the Sasami (Chicken Breast) to start. This has never been a big favorite of mine and this version was dry and needed much more salt as well. I first thought that this might be tori-wasa, which would be tender and medium rare, but this was overcooked.

One item that I thought was good here is the Kimo; the chicken liver. The Missus loves this, but I'm not too fond of it. However, this was very good, not too minerally in flavor, without that mushiness I'm not a big fan of.

The tare added a nice sweet-saltiness that deflected all the flavors in chicken liver that I don't like.

We both also received Sunagimo, chicken gizzards.

I usually enjoy how gizzards really absorb the smokiness of the bincho; but instead of being crunchy, this was hard, and strangely didn't have that smokiness I enjoy.

Next up for the both of us was the negi-maki, thigh meat wrapped in scallion.

The meat was very moist if a bit on the tough side. The bitterness of the incinerated scallions was rather unpleasant.

Next up for the both of us is one of my key favorites when it comes to yakitori; tsukune (chicken meatball).

In complete contrast to other items that were basically burnt, this needed a bit more color. What little tare was used on the meatball brought nothing to it. The meatball was toughr than I prefer and there were hard bits as well.

Next up for the Missus, Cherry Tomatoes.

Innocuous, tart, could have used a bit more time on the grill.

I received another of my usual favorites; "kawa", chicken skin.

The burnt bits were crisp, but the rest dry and gummy. This needed more saltiness, or at least a good tare.

The Momoniku (thigh) was quite good.

Except for the scallion being burnt bitter again. Great sweet-salty flavors for the toothsome but not tough chicken thighs. The slightly smoky flavor lifted the dish.

Next for the Missus, Shiitake.

This was fine, but really didn't have any seasoning….it was almost like it hadn't been grilled. Check out the skewers, no blackening on it. Odd.

I received the Aigamo (Duck).

This needed more seasoning and was overcooked for our taste, making it tough and rather stringy.

The Missus finished up with Nankotsu; chicken cartilage.

This was decently prepared, if a bit on the dry side. The amount of salt used was perfect.

My last dish was another favorite of mine; Teba, chicken wing.

Dried out, rubbery, and too salty. Not my favorite combination of textures and tastes.

The Missus and I left somewhat disillusioned. I've always said that it's hard to get a bad meal in Japan and while this wasn't terrible, it wasn't close to being good. I'm wondering if it was just a bad night? Luckily, we'd get some great yakitori later on during this trip.

Isehiro Kyobashi Honten
1-5-4 Kyoashi, Chuo 104-0031
Tokyo

Trade Winds Tavern Soft Opening, Dudley’s Deli Becoming Tahini Street Food, the Sign for Ramen Ultra is up, Continuing my “Hut Streak”, and Wow, is it Closed?

February 16, 2017 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Gastropub, Ramen, yoso-silly

A bit overdue with these odds and ends.

Trade Winds Tavern Soft Opening:

Been watching this spot since Char Hut closed. And was kind of curious when I read the Application for Ownership Change announcing the new business, then the Help Wanted sign mentioning a Asian themed Gastropub. So, does Common Theory have some serious competition? Stay tuned. Meanwhile, enjoy the soft opening prices until the end of February.

Trade Winds Tavern
7765 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Dudley's Deli Becoming Tahini Street Food:

Almost didn't notice this one.

Sadly, Dudley's in Kearny Mesa just never gained any traction. Now it's becoming something named Tahini Street Food.

9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

The Sign for Ramen Ultra is up:

Been watching this location rather carefully. The sign for the shop is up.

Noticed when I went to pick up lunch at Beauty Hunan. Ready for more ramen?

8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Ste M
San Diego, CA 92111

Continuing my "Hut Streak":

So, "Sandy" left a comment on my Noodle Hut post, after I mentioned doing "Two Huts in Three Days". She asked me: What's next – Pizza Hut? Apparently, Cathy read that comment and thought it was a hoot. So, I thought, "ok, why not"? The only problem was…..I don't recall the last time I actually saw a Pizza Hut and let Cathy know. She believes that I just block those places out. So, after doing a Google search, I found a Pizza Hut nearby….doesn't seem to have too many of them left, in Clairemont Town Square. I headed on over……by the time I reached the parking lot, I already had….hmmmm……how to describe it, "buyer's pre-morse"? And upon finding that it looked like a take-out only shop, I decided to turn around and head back to the car.

Yes…you could say that I….."chickened – Hut".

Still, wanting to keep my "hut-streak" going for one more day, I found a place that fulfilled the criteria.

It must have been fate, because I found a parking space in the worst lot on Convoy.

And had some Wings – "Naked"….sauce on the side. Nicely fried.

So there you go. I think three "Hut posts" in a row is enough.

Over and "Hut".

Crab Hut
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

And finally…..

Wow, Is It Closed?:

Well, I'm not 100% sure.

Other than the brown paper blocking things out….the light are still on. Still, if Great Wow did close like this; it would probably fit the rather interesting pattern of how they opened.

3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Krispy Krunchy Chicken and Ramen in the 99 Ranch Market Food Court

December 12, 2016 mmm-yoso Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Chicken Wings, Ramen

**** Krispy Krunchy Chicken is now a location of Cluck n Sip

While I'd been keeping an eye on the opening of the new 99 Ranch Market on Balboa, I never really made it until a couple of weeks ago. They opened while we were out of the country and when I got back, my schedule was a mess for a while. So, I finally made it over when I needed to pick up something on the way home from work. Krispy Krunchy Chicken is located in the food court on the east side of the building along with Saigon 5 and a location of Shanxi Magic Kitchen (those posts are coming up). I decided to grab something to go and the folks at KKC were really friendly…insisting I sample their chicken tenders.

So, I placed an order for 10 wings….which are currently on special for $7.99. I was told it would be 10 minutes for my chicken, which was perfect as it gave me a chance to dash over and make my purchases in the market.

I got the basic fried chicken wings.

These were indeed (C)Krispy, (C)Krunchy, hot, and very moist, probably since this was made to order. In spite of being fairly hefty sized wings, I thought the batter to meat ratio was quite nice. Both the Missus and I thought a more aggressive Cajun seasoning would make this a bit better. Much like Kirbie, I couldn't help but make the comparison to Popeye's. While you're at it; check out Jinxi's post as well.

I'm glad I didn't get the "Buffalo" version since I saw that it was simply doused with hot sauce…….the chicken would have been soggy by the time I got home. Both the Missus and I used a good amount of Crystal Hot Sauce to add a little kick to the rather mildly seasoned wings. Still these were not bad.

During this visit; I learned that KKC opened at 930am, which made it a perfect spot for a bite between meetings. Curious that the place makes Ramen; albeit a definite Chinese Style (Wuji) ramen; I thought I'd give it a try. So I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen and was given a free chicken tender.

This had been sitting so while being fairly crisp, had dried out a bit and was quite bland.

The ramen was also mediocre.

The broth is thin, yet has a greasy mouthfeel. The flavor is slightly "tinny". The worst thing was that the broth was served almost lukewarm and was more salty than anything else. The chashu, while well flavored is fairly tough. The noodles were overcooked. The egg was nice and softboiled and might be; other than the very cheerful young Chinese kids manning the booth the best thing about this bowl of ramen.

A few days later, I needed to grab something before a 11am conference call so I dropped by and got a three piece meal with potato wedges.

Unlike my wings, this wasn't cooked to order and it suffered a bit. Especially the breast which was really dry and bland with the batter falling off. The color was also darker than the chicken on my previous visits. The potato wedges were also dry.

If I return, I'll probably go with the wings and hope they make them to order. And while the chicken here is larger than Popeye's, I enjoy the flavor at P's better. Like I said you can't help but make a comparison. Popeye's was founded in New Orleans in 1972; KKC, in Lafayette in 1989 and uses an injectable flavor/brine….which I think they need to use more aggressively.

I really liked the young people working here; they are very friendly, and always giving out samples. I believe they also have a location in the East Village.

Krispy Krunchy Chicken
5950 Balboa Ave (Inside 99 Ranch Market)
San Diego, CA 92111

San Diego Restaurants

Pho Minh & Grill – Spring Valley

November 30, 2016 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

So returning from my trip, I needed a haircut….you know where this is going right? Well, Haircut Guy was now working in Spring Valley! Spring Valley? Like I said before, his moving around allows me to visit areas of San Diego I'd usually not explore. But where to go after my haircut? My first thought was Ranas, since I hadn't been back in years. Instead, having to get back home rather quickly; I saw this place in the same parking lot as a gas station.

I knew of Pho Minh in PB, but didn't know they had a location out here on the fringes of Spring Valley.

So I decided to drop by and have a bowl of pho.

The restaurant is quite tiny, though things are not crowded together. The two women who I've dealt with here are quite friendly and it seems they have a nice regular clientele.

Of course I went with the Pho Dac Biet…..just to see what was up. For some reason, I decided to order the large size ($7.99).

My order actually took a while, but the bowl was huge. I liked that the rare steak, in spite of being the usual rather tough top round, was still rare when the bowl arrived. Most of the proteins; the brisket, et al, were pretty bland, though the textures, especially the tendon was pretty much spot on.

I expected the sprouts and basil to be fairly sparse and it was.

And while the noodles were in the usual clump on the bottom of the bowl, it wasn't soft and mushy, and not cold.

The broth wasn't terrible, a bit too defatted for my taste, and while not very beefy, had a mild sweetness and wasn't too salty. So I didn't need very much lime to help balance things out. I've had much worse in Kearny Mesa.

I've worked every single day since we got back from our trip. Such is the biz. Still, my hair doesn't stop growing, and I needed a fresh trim….I had consultants coming into town and meetings with our customers. So, it was back out to Spring Valley for a rather quick turnaround haircut. So, as is the norm, I returned to Pho Minh. I'd seen Bo Kho on the menu, but when I ordered it, I was told that they don't make that at this location any longer. I had to make some quick choices. I quickly went with the standard spring roll, Goi Cuon ($3.95).

So when I said standard issue; I mean standard issue. Man, look at all that lettuce. Basically a salad in rice paper. And the shrimp was overcooked and rather chewy. Very generic and not something I'd order here again.

I noticed that there was a sign that listed Chicken Wings ($7.40), so I decided to get those as well.

So these were deep fried, then topped with stir fried onions and peppers to give it some umph. These were fairly small wings; which doesn't bother me because I'm more about the ratio of skin to meat. However, half of the wings were slightly burnt, making the exterior bitter, not good eats. Also, these were overcooked and rather dry. The flavor of the wings, the parts that weren't charred, was fairly bland, which explains the need for the "topping". Not my favorite rendition of chicken wings to be sure.

So in the end; possibly passable pho. Really nice folks, though perhaps a stop-gap, but not a destination for my pho-fix. Though I'm glad to have had the chance to visit a locale I usually wouldn't have on my list. As my haircut was complete and I paid my barber, he mentioned that he'd probably be moving on….business here was too slow. So who knows where he'll pop up next?

Pho Minh & Grill
2615 Sweetwater Springs Blvd
Spring Valley, CA 91978